Thread or yarn cleaner



y 1935- A. E. TRUESDELL 2,002,843

THREAD dR YARN CLEANER Filed Nov. 17, 1952 //V|/EN TOR AiUHz/R ETRZ/ESJELL 4 7' TORNE Ys 5.. making fabric;

I Patented May 28, 1935 I N TE-D STAT s PATEN OFFICE THREAD 0R YARNCLEANER Arthur E. Truesdelhlfittsfield, Mass. Application November 17,1932, Serial No. 643,080

' '6 Claims. (01. 28-64) My invention more particularly relates to adevice commonly known as a slub catcher or -slub-:

ber for removing slubs or other enlargements which freque'ntly occur intextile filaments for Such imperfections; if not removed, are likely tobreakthe needles or the yarn when used in knittingmachines, and whenknitted or woven into cloth causefimperfetions therein. l e. .1.

{Various types oi slubbers are now in-=use' most of which areineificient asjthey' will remove under time harmful imperfections in-theyarn. Their detecting element is not I s'ensitive enough toj copewiththe high yarn windingspeeds now employed andon closer adjustmenttheybecome nonselective and make uselesscuts in the yarn. In somedevices the yarn wears the detector and soon the proper gauging islost-. Inoth'ers close adjustment cannot be had without incurring use- 7cannot be easily and accurately setiOrthe yarn size, thickness. gauges"being; generally used;=which depend for accuracy on'the feel of thesetter. One of the objects of myinvention is .to provide a device ofthis character .tobe both sensitive and" selective withoutnin'curringuseless breaksih the yarn; 1. Another object is toprovidea simpleadjustment for the detection groove,;both accurate and easily set. a i vr it Another; object is to provide easy replacement of parts subjecttowear as will be evident. A further object is toprovide aselectivedetection to suit the needs of the particular mill. I "My; inventionwill best be understood by reference to the accompanying drawing inwhich I have illustrated, a preferred embodiment thereofandinwhich- A aFig. 1 is a front elevation of a deviceembodying my invention; V a 5 IFig. 2 is a side elevation thereof; Figs-3 is a fragmentary detailillustrating the mountingof the table on the frame; l r Fig. e isa sideview of a modified form of detector shoe enlarged; and i r r A .-Figs.;5 and-6 illustrate further enlarged modifications of detector shoes. i-Like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the drawing. 7

Referring to the drawing, I indicates generally a frame comprisingabracket H bywhich the frame. may-be secured to a part ofthe windingmachine preferably by a set screw] 2. the bracket the table 21 by. ascrew 33', the upper edge of the tion of the frame'in order to hold thedevice securely in position. The frame ID also comprises a standard [3.which extends upwardly and then horizontally as at M and thendownwardly as at I5; The standard I3 is also provided with extensions l6and I1. The extension i6 is provided With/an, elongated slot I8 in whichis mounted a shaft:;l9 preferably provided with an enlarged portion 20and secured in position by a nut 2i. On the shaft are mounted two yarnengaging friction discs 22'- and HI whichjare held in engagementagainstthe enlarged portion 20 of the shaft by a coil spring '23which isinterposed between the disc 22 and a nut 24 engaging a screwthreaded?portion 250i the shaft I9. It will, of course, be understood that anyother form of'tension device maybe employedtosecure'proper winding ofthe yarn on the package.

.A; guide roller 26-for the yarn is mounted on a shaft secured to theother. extension ll. A table 21 is secured to the standard I3 by screws28 one of whichis'illustrated in Fig. 3 the ends of which are receivedin tapped openings 29 in the table. The screws 28 pass through slots'30in the stand ard I3 thereby permitting vertical adjustment of the table.

A guide plate 3| for the filament is mounted on the table 2'! and ispreferably secured in position by a clamping plate 32 which is securedto clamping plate 32. engaging the guide plate 3|. The engagingsurfacesof the table 21 and the guide plate 3! are inclined with respectto the line of travel of the yarn or thread 34 so that a longitudinalmovement of the guide plate 3| with respect to the table 2'! raises orlowers the upper surface of the guide plate 3| to a position parallel toits original position. The table is calibrated as at 35 and anadjacently disposed portion of the guide plate is provided with a markor calibration 36. The calibrations on the table 21 are preferably somade with reference to the inclination of the table and the guide plate,that the longitudinal movement of the guide plate through onecalibration represents a vertical movement of 1/1000 of an inch. Thisconstruction providesan easy and accurate adjustment of the guide'plate. While I have illustrated the calibrations arranged on the facesof the table and the guideplate, it will be understood that 50 the guideplate could be set back from the table and the calibrationsplaced on thetop of the table and the sideof the guide plate, or other convenientway. i

generally at 3?, is provided with a shaft 38 the ends of which aremounted in non-friction bearings 39 mounted in the standard l3 and thedownwardly extending portion thereof I5, respectively. The detector 3'1comprises an arm 40 provided with an extension 4| on which is mounted anadjustable weight 42 which normally holds the arm 48 in the inclinedposition illustrated in Fig. 2 against a stop 43 preferably in the formof a pin which is received in an opening 44 in the standard.

The arm 49 is preferably formed of wood or other light material havinglittle inertia thereby improving the sensitiveness of the device. 7 Areadily removable metal shoe 45 in the form of an angle piece in theillustrated embodiment of my invention is secured to the lower end ofthe arm 40 as by a screw 48, the lower portion of the shoe extendingacross the lower end of the arm 40 and paralleling the line of movementof the yarn; It is evident that the shoe may be made in two parts, ablade and'a drag which may be separately replaceable. In the embodimentof my invention illustrated in Fig. 2, the lower side of the shoe 45 isprovided with a plurality of downwardly extending comparatively narrowprojections 41 constituting slub detector elements, the lower edges ofwhich are normally parallel to the upper surface of the guide plate 3|,the projection lll at the forward end preferably being sharpened. Itwill be noted that the detector elements and the sharpened element arelocated in advance of the normal from the pivotal point of the detectorunit to the line lower edges of the elements 47 and 4' of the 1 shoe 45are equally distant from the top of the guide plate 3!. The guide plate3| is so adjusted with reference to the detector shoe, that the filamentof yarn or thread of normal thickness will just passbetween the guideplate and the shoe without moving the latter. When an enlargement,however, such as a-slub 48 occurs in the yarn or other fibrous filament,the arm 40 is tilted to the right as viewed in Fig. 2 about its pivotand the knife edge 41! or other detector bites into the thread andsevers it where the slub or other enlargement occurs. By the provisionof a multiplicity of detection elements of the proper character, theefficiency of the detector unit is increased. 7

The operation of the device is as follows.

The yarn or other fibrous filament 34 is wound from a suitable bobbin,tube or reel and passes between the friction discs 22 and 22] over theguide plate Stand the guide roller 26 to a package, not illustrated.

The table 27 and guide plate 3| which is mounted thereon have previouslybeen set by means of screws 28 to best accommodate the various sizes ofyarn'to be wound. This means that if the yarns to be used require anaverage spacing below the shoe 4 5 of .015 of an inch, the table 21 andguide plate 3i will be set to make the spacing .615 of an inch,-when theguide plate 3| is in midposition on the table. This setting can then beeasily modified on a changeof yarn size by loosening clamp 32 andsliding the guide plate 3! forward or backward to give the required newspacing. In the position shown the spacing is ments 4! or 4H which Willcause the detector .017 of an inch.

Any substantial enlargement in the yarn such as a slub will encounterone of the detector eleelement to swing tothe right in the direction ofyarn travel enabling element 4?! to sever the yarn. The slub is thenremoved by the operator in the usual way, a knot tied in the yarn andwinding renewed.

By removing the stop 43, the arm 46 may be moved upwardly so as toexpose the lower side of the shoe and permit ready cleaning thereof.

In Fig. 4 I have illustrated a modified form of shoe which isparticualrly intended for detecting and removing coarse yarn. In thiscase the shoe is provided with a cutting edge 4?! as in the'case of Fig.2, but is also provided at the rear thereof with a comparatively largeprojection 442 having a correspondingly large lower area .to engage theenlarged yarn. The shoe illustrated in Fig. 4- may be made even moreeffective by roughening the lower surface of the projection 442.

Fig. 6 illustrates a design of shoe provided with three detectorelements 444 particularly useful for detecting slubs as distinguishedfrom coarse yarn, and Fig. 5 illustrates a device intermediate betweenthe devices of Fig. 4 and that of Fig. 6, the same being provided withtwo detector elements 443.

The above designs of shoes provide differing means from which the usercan select the, one most suitable for his needs.

While I have described myinvention in its preferred embodiments, it willbe understood that the words which I have used are Words of descriptionrather than of limitation and thatchanges within the purview of theappended claims may be made without departing from the true scope andspirit of my invention in its broader aspects.

WhatI claim is:

1. In a device of the character described, a

frame, a detector unit swingingly mounted thereon, a table mounted onsaid frame, a guide plate over which a filament of fibrous material ismovable mounted on said table, the engaging surfacesof said table andsaid plate being oppositely inclined with respect to the line of travelof said filament, whereby the longitudinal movement of said plate variesthe distance thereof from said unit, and means for adjustably holdingsaid plate to said table.

2. In a device of the character described, a frame, a detector unitswingingly mounted thereon, a table mounted on said frame, a guide plateover which a filament of fibrous material is movable mounted on saidtable, the engaging surfaces of said table and said plate beingoppositely inclined with respect to the line of travel of said filament,whereby the longitudinal movement of said plate varies the distancethereof from said unit, said table and said plate being provided withadjacently disposed calibrated portions, and means for adjustablyholding said plate and said table together.

3. In a device of the character described, a frame, a detector unitswingingly mounted thereon, a table mounted on said frame, a guide plateover which a filament of fibrous material is movable mounted on saidtable, the engaging surfaces of said table and said plate beingoppositely inclined with respect to the top surface of said plate,whereby the longitudinal movement of said plate varies the distancethereof from said unit, means for adjustably holding said table andwards and away from said unit. 7

4. In a device of the character described, a swingingly mounted detectorunit, a table, a guide device over which a filament of fibrous materialis movable mounted on said table, the engaging surfaces of said tableand said device being oppositely inclined with respect to the topsurface of said device whereby the longitudinal movement of said devicevaries the distance thereof from said unit and means for adjustablyholding said table and said device together.

5. In a device of the character described, a swingingly mounted detectorunit, a table, a guide device over which afilament of fibrous materialis movable mounted on said table, the engaging surfaces of said tableand said device being oppositely inclined with respect to the topsurface of said device whereby the longitudinal movement of said devicevaries the distance thereof mounted on said frame, a guide plate mountedon .said table, means for guiding a filament of fibrous material overthe top of said plate, said filament being movable vertically with saidplate,

the engaging surfaces of said table and saidplate being oppositelyinclined with respect to the line of travel of said filament whereby thelongitudinal movement of said plate varies the distance thereof fromsaid detector unit, and means for adjustably securing said plate to saidtable.

, ARTHUR E. TRUESDELL.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTEGN.

Patent No. 2,002,843. May 28, 1935.

ARTHUR E. TRUESDELL.

it is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows; Page 2,first column, line 72, strike out the syllable and words "ments 47 or471 which wiil cause the detector" and insert the same after "line 75,of same page and column; and that the said Letters Patent should be readwith this correction therein that the same may conform to the record ofthe case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 9th day of July, A. D. 1935.

Bryan M. Battey (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents.

